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Comedian George Jessel hit the stage in an exaggerated salaam to the King of rock and roll at Elvis's evening performance at Ellis Auditorium February 25, 1961. Jessel, the master of ceremonies, could not make it to the earlier matinee performance because of an airline strike. Elvis Presley Day began earlier with a luncheon honoring the singer at Hotel Claridge. More than $50,000 was raised for charity from the events. Robert Williams/The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley made an appearance, but did not sing, at Russwood Park on June 28, 1957, for a benefit for what would become St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Elvis is flanked by comic Lou Costello and actress Jane Russell. Others appearing on the program before an estimated crowd of 11,000 were singers Roberta Sherwood and Ferlin Husky and actress Susan Hayward. Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley playing touch football at the Dave Wells Community Center December 27, 1956. Several hundred people watched the singer pass, kick and run a touchdown. Elvis's first movie, "Love Me Tender", in which he performed several songs, had premiered November 15th in New York City. The movie opened Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 21, 1956) at Loew's State Theatre in Memphis. On Sunday January 6, 1957, Elvis would make his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In between the football game and the Sullivan appearance, he reported for his pre-induction Army physical January 4th. (By Barney Sellers / Copyright, The Commercial Appeal) Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

051712 BYGONE A fan shows off her dress at Elvis Presley's concert at Ellis Auditorium in 1956. More than 7,000 people jammed Ellis Auditorium on the night of May 15 to stomp, shudder, shriek and sigh as a young Elvis Presley writhed his way through a rock and roll repertoire. Presley was the blockbuster of Bob Neal's Cotton Picking Jamboree, a feature of Cotton Carnival opening night. (By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley at his piano inside Graceland in this 1965 photograph. Elvis had misgivings about allowing pictures to be made inside his home. "It's not that I don't want pictures," he said. "You know what I mean. Some people might think I am looking for publicity or trying to exploit my home. I certainly don't want anyone to think that." (By Charles Nicholas / The Commercial Appeal)
EDS NOTE: BELIEVE THIS WAS AN OUTTAKE FROM MARCH 7, 1965 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SHOOT. IT RAN IN THE DECEMBER 25, 1966 ISSUE OF MID-SOUTH Charles Nicholas, The Commercial Appeal

December 27, 1957 - Elvis Presley, poses with his house guests, Kathy Gabriel, 19, left, and Hanneri Melcher, 20, in Memphis. Melcher, Miss Austria 1957, met Elvis in Las Vegas in November 1957, and visited Graceland at Christmas time with her roommate, 1957's Miss Ohio, Kathy Gabriel as they were on their way to New York. Elvis had just received news of a 60-day draft extension to March 20. (Robert Williams/The Commercial Appeal )
Robert Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley and fellow inductee Farley Guy (right), an old friend from Lauderdale Courts on March 24, 1958. After reporting for duty about 6:30 a.m. at the Draft Board office in the M&M Building, 198 South Main, he and other inductees would spend much of the day at Kennedy Veterans Hospital for processing and physicals before boarding a bus for Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. By the 28th, Elvis arrived at Fort Hood, Texas where he would undergo six months of training before shipping off to Germany. Presley moved about the rec room at Kennedy constantly. "If you think I'm nervous, it's because I am," he joked. (Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Bob Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Yvonne Lime, Hollywood starlet, and Elvis Presley looked lovey-dovey at each other Friday April 19, 1957 in front of Graceland, Elvis' new $100,000 mansion near Whitehaven. Miss Lime, who was visiting for the Easter holidays, had a small part in "Loving You", Elvis' second motion picture which premiered July 9th of that year. Production had begun in mid January and wrapped by mid-March. (Robert Williams/The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley in a Memphis city court Friday October 19, 1956 along with Gulf service station employees Edd Hopper (left) and Aubrey Brown. The trio had a fight the previous night when Elvis pulled into the station at Gayoso and Second for repairs and was beseiged by fans. Hopper, the station manager, ordered Presley away and a brief altercation ensued. All three were booked for assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Charges against Presley were dismissed. Hopper and Brown both had to pay fines. (By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley swapped pleasantries with well-wishers after being cleared in a Memphis city court of charges Friday October 19, 1956. Presley and Gulf service station employees Edd Hopper and Aubrey Brown had a fight the previous night when Elvis pulled into the station at Gayoso and Second for repairs and was besieged by fans. Hopper, the station manager, ordered Presley away and a brief altercation ensued. All three were booked for assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Hopper and Brown both had to pay fines. At left is Presley's father, Vernon Presley. (Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley playing touch football at the Dave Wells Community Center December 27, 1956. Several hundred people watched the singer pass, kick and run a touchdown. Elvis's first movie, "Love Me Tender," in which he performed several songs, had premiered November 15th in New York City. The movie opened Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 21, 1956) at Loew's State Theatre in Memphis. On Sunday January 6, 1957, Elvis would make his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In between the football game and the Sullivan appearance, he reported for his pre-induction Army physical Jan. 4. Barney Sellers/The Commercial Appeal

16 Jan 1971 - Photo by Dave Darnell. Elvis Presley (cq) signs autographs for fans after leaving a luncheon at the Holiday Inn Rivermont. At left is Red West (cq). Behind West is William N. Morris (cq), former sheriff of Shelby County. Presley was being honored by the Jaycees as one of the Outstanding Young Men In America. This photograph appeared on Page One of The Commercial Appeal when Presley died in 1977. Dave Darnell, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis fans hoping for the chance to get his autograph on the night of May 15, 1956 at Ellis Auditorium where Elvis performed for more than 7,000. His performance was a feature of Cotton Carnival opening night. ( By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) ROBERT WILLIAMS, The Commercial Appeal

Police clasped hands and hung on for dear life as hundreds of Elvis Presley fans, apparenty tired of worshiping their idol from afar, surged forward for a closer look. Eighty-five policemen were assigned to keep order at the at the E.H. Crump Memorial Football Game for the Blind at Crump Stadium November 30, 1956. ( By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) CK NEGATIVE ETCHED BARNEY SELLERS The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley playing touch football at the Dave Wells Community Center December 27, 1956. Several hundred people watched the singer pass, kick and run a touchdown. Elvis's first movie, "Love Me Tender", in which he performed several songs, had premiered November 15th in New York City. The movie opened Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 21, 1956) at Loew's State Theatre in Memphis. On Sunday January 6, 1957, Elvis would make his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In between the football game and the Sullivan appearance, he reported for his pre-induction Army physical January 4th. (By Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal)
Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

Elvis Presley performs what would be his last Memphis concert July 5, 1976 before a crowd of 12,000 at Mid-South Coliseum. Exactly twenty-two years earlier (7/5/54), Elvis recorded "That's All Right" at Sam Phillips' little studio at 706 Union. Introducing the song, he said: "I've had some people say - well, you can't do that song anymore - well, you, by God, just watch me." (By Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal) Barney Sellers

More than 7,000 people jammed Ellis Auditorium on the night of May 15, 1956, to stomp, shudder, shriek and sigh as a young Elvis Presley writhed his way through a rock and roll repertoire. Presley was the blockbuster of Bob Neal's Cotton Picking Jamboree, a feature of Cotton Carnival opening night. buyitnow

Elvis Presley and several friends took a spin around McKellar Lake in his new boat on July 8, 1960. He purchased the 16-foot powder blue speedboat the night before. Elvis said he had first become interested in boating while in California. Asked if he planned to ski, he said: "Not today. Don't want to make an idiot of myself." File

Elvis fiddles with an electric bass inside Graceland in this photograph published March 7, 1965, in the first issue of Mid-South, the now-defunct Sunday magazine of The Commercial Appeal. Elvis had misgivings about allowing pictures to be made inside his home. 'It's not that I don't want pictures,' he said. 'You know what I mean. Some people might think I am looking for publicity or trying to exploit my home. I certainly don't want anyone to think that.' buyitnow

Maid of Cotton Patricia Cowden (left) and Memphis Cotton Carnival Queen Clare Mallory gave Elvis Presley royal kisses just before the rock and roll singer walked on stage before a packed Ellis Auditorium audience on the night of May 15, 1956. buyitnow

Elvis Presley posed with one of his cars outside Graceland in this photograph published March 7, 1965, in the first issue of Mid-South, the now-defunct Sunday magazine of The Commercial Appeal. Elvis complained of the long sessions with photographers making movie publicity stills: 'I try to cut the time down to three or four hours, but sometimes you have to pose for six or eight. A man only has so many different smiles, and I don't have many.' buyitnow

Elvis Presley performs what would be his last Memphis concert July 5, 1976, before a crowd of 12,000 at the Mid-South Coliseum. Twenty-two years earlier to the day, Elvis recorded 'That's All Right' at Sam Phillips' little studio at 706 Union. Introducing the song, he said: 'I've had some people say - well, you can't do that song anymore - well, you, by God, just watch me.' buyitnow

Clutching an Elvis Presley 'Love Me Tender' wrist watch, Sue Manker was all aflutter when the rock and roll king bussed her Nov. 30, 1956, at Crump Stadium. The singer was tardy and missed the opportunity to crown her as queen of half-time activities at the E.H. Crump Memorial Football Game for the Blind. But what a consolation prize! buyitnow

Comedian George Jessel hit the stage in an exaggerated salaam to the King of rock and roll at Elvis' evening performance at Ellis Auditorium Feb. 25, 1961. Jessel, the master of ceremonies, could not make it to the earlier matinee performance because of an airline strike. Elvis Presley Day began earlier with a luncheon honoring the singer at Hotel Claridge. More than $50,000 was raised for charity from the events. buyitnow

He was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Miss., and became a legend in his own time. More than 7,000 people jammed Ellis Auditorium on the night of May 15, 1956, to stomp, shudder, shriek and sigh as a young Elvis Presley writhed his way through a rock and roll repertoire. Presley was the blockbuster of Bob Neal's Cotton Picking Jamboree, a feature of Cotton Carnival opening night. buyitnow

Elvis Presley in a Memphis city court on Oct. 19, 1956, along with Gulf service station employees Edd Hopper (left) and Aubrey Brown. The trio had a fight the previous night when Elvis pulled into the station at Gayoso and Second for repairs and was besieged by fans. Hopper, the station manager, ordered Presley away and a brief altercation ensued. All three were booked for assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Charges against Presley were dismissed. Hopper and Brown both had to pay fines. buyitnow

Elvis Presley on the day of his induction into the army March 24, 1958. Miss Judy Spreckels and Miss Anita Wood (next to Elvis) were among those to see him off. After reporting for duty about 6:30 a.m. at the Draft Board office in the M&M Building, 198 South Main, he and other inductees would spend much of the day at Kennedy Veterans Hospital for processing and physicals before boarding a bus for Fort Chaffee, Arks. By the 28th, Elvis arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, where he would undergo six months of training before shipping off to Germany. buyitnow

Elvis Presley at Kennedy Veterans Hospital on Getwell Jan. 4, 1957. Elvis reported to the hospital that afternoon for his army pre-induction physical performed by Capt. Leonard Glick and a written qualification exam administered by Lt. Jack Zager just days before his 22nd birthday on Jan. 8. Elvis left for New York by train later that evening for his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan's 'Toast of the Town Show,' which broadcast Jan. 6. buyitnow

Some 200 fans waited at Union Station to welcome Elvis Presley home from his stint in the U.S. Army on March 7, 1960. He was wearing a (non-issue) dress blue Army uniform made in Germany. Elvis was discharged at the rank of sergeant, but the tailor had mistakenly given him the stripes of staff sergeant. The formal white shirt was a gift from Frank Sinatra delivered March 3 by his daughter, Nancy, on Elvis' first day back in the U.S. On March 26, Elvis would tape a special 'Welcome Home, Elvis' version of Sinatra's ABC-TV variety show, which aired May 12. Asked by reporters if he planned to wiggle his hips when he returned to singing, Elvis said: 'I'm gonna sing and I'll let the shaking come naturally. If I had to stand still and sing, I'd be lost. I can't get any feeling that way.' buyitnow

Yvonne Lime, Hollywood starlet, and Elvis Presley looked lovey-dovey at each other on April 19, 1957, in front of Graceland, Elvis' new $100,000 mansion near Whitehaven. Miss Lime, who was visiting for the Easter holidays, had a small part in 'Loving You,' Elvis' second motion picture which premiered July 9 of that year. Production had begun in mid-January and wrapped by mid-March. buyitnow

Elvis Presley performed for 14,000 fans at Russwood Park in Memphis the night of July 4, 1956. The big charity event included a speech by Mississippi Sen. James O. Eastland and the annual picnic. The marathon show featured over 100 performers and lasted more than three hours. Elvis topped off the revue with a half-hour stint in the spotlight. buyitnow

Elvis Presley fans hoping for the chance to get his autograph on the night of May 15, 1956, at Ellis Auditorium, where Elvis performed for more than 7,000. His performance was a feature of Cotton Carnival opening night. buyitnow

An unidentified woman approached Elvis Presley at Goodfellows headquarters Dec. 16, 1957, with a request: 'Elvis, please autograph my arm!' Elvis was at the headquarters to present the Press-Scimitar Goodfellows with 100 brand new $10 bills. Elvis let it be known that the Goodfellows had played Santa Claus for him seven years earlier. 'Our family had it pretty rough that year,' he recalled. 'The Goodfellows made my Christmas for me.' buyitnow

After being released from jail following his arrest for a fight at a downtown service station Oct. 18, 1956, Elvis went home to 1034 Audubon to relax and play with his new pet. A week later the service station owner, Clarence Harwell, publicly apologized to Presley for the incident. Presley was cleared in city court of misconduct, but two station attendants with whom he tangled briefly drew fines for assault and battery. buyitnow

Elvis Presley and Anita Wood embrace as she steps from an airliner at Memphis Municipal Airport the night of Sept. 13, 1957. Miss Wood, hostess for a Memphis TV show, 'Top 10 Dance Party,' was returning from a week in Hollywood preparing for her first movie role in 'Girl in the Woods.' Elvis had given the 19-year-old a friendship ring the previous week in Hollywood. buyitnow

Elvis Presley, dressed in civilian clothes, after his return home from the army March 7, 1960. Elvis was greeted by a crowd of some 200 people in the early morning cold at Memphis' Union Station. In the afternoon, he held a press conference in the two-room office building behind Graceland where he explained to newsmen the use of karate, a form of judo. Presley became a student of karate while stationed in Germany. buyitnow

Elvis Presley dropped by The Commercial Appeal on the night of June 8, 1956, and found an offbeat note. He saw a story that a Canadian radio station was banning his records. 'A lot of people like it,' was one of his comments. buyitnow

While on his first furlough, Elvis Presley explains the insignia on his uniform to fans at the gates of Graceland on June 1, 1958. Elvis arrived late the previous night for a two-week leave. He was inducted into the U.S. Army on March 24, 1958. buyitnow

Elvis Presley went backstage at The Auditorium on the night of March 9, 1962, to say hello to some of his friends in the Holiday on Ice cast, and skating star Dorothy Goos promptly put him to work holding yarn. Elvis had visited Holiday on Ice performers here during their last three annual visits. buyitnow

Elvis Presley signs autographs for fans during a luncheon at the Holiday Inn Rivermont in 1971. Presley was being honored by the Jaycees as one of the Outstanding Young Men In America. Priscilla Presley is seated by him. Seated on Elvis' other side is William N. Morris, former sheriff of Shelby County. buyitnow

Elvis Presley aboard the train that brought him home to Memphis on March 7, 1960. Some 200 fans waited at Union Station to welcome him home from his stint in the U.S. Army. At left is Col. Tom Parker, who died Jan. 21, 1997. buyitnow

Eight-year-old Mary Kosloski had a date with Elvis Presley Jan. 8, 1958, and he kept her waiting for more than two hours. The Collierville girl, who was the national March of Dimes poster child in 1955, seemed to forgive all when Elvis appeared and told her: 'If you were 10 years older, honey, I wouldn't let you go.' The pair were photographed with teddy bears and pandas Elvis was sending to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis for auction during an upcoming fund drive. buyitnow

Elvis Presley leaves Memphis' Union Station on March 7, 1960. A crowd of 200 waited in the cold to see Elvis safely home from his stint in the U.S. Army. He arrived via private rail car on Southern Railway's Tennessean about 7:45 a.m. After speaking with fans, he hopped in Insp. Fred Woodward's police car and was driven to Graceland, escorted by city police, sheriff's deputies and state troopers. buyitnow

More than 150 people jammed into the mayor's office Dec. 17, 1963, to see Elvis Presley hand out Christmas checks totaling $55,000. The checks benefited 58 Memphis and Mid-South charities. In appreciation, the organizations presented Elvis with a six-foot plaque. It was warm in the room, and when Commissioner Claude Armour announced Elvis was going to pass out the checks, the singer wiped his brow and said, 'Elvis is going to pass out, period.' buyitnow

Described as "devastating" (Time magazine), "wildly ambitious" (The New York Times), and "a hunka hunka burning zeitgeist" (National Public Radio), "The King" — which opens Friday at the Malco Studio on the Square — is unlike any of the dozens of Elvis Presley documentaries, dramas, spoofs and pastiches that have preceded it.

Leading moviegoers on a King's Tour of America from inside a 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V formerly owned by Presley, director Eugene Jarecki — known for such political documentaries as "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" and "Why We Fight" — transforms the milestones of the standard rags-to-riches-to-arrhythmia Elvis biography into the tissue samples of a biopsy on a country in decline.

The film suggests that America, like Elvis, has squandered its potential and betrayed the promise of its glorious beginning. As Harlem rapper Immortal Technique tells Jarecki in the film: "If Elvis is your metaphor for America, we're about to O.D."

Director Eugene Jarecki(Photo: Oscilloscope)

Shot over some two years in such pivotal Elvis locations as Tupelo, Nashville, New York, Hollywood, Bad Nauheim (Germany) and, of course, Memphis, "The King" — with Steven Soderbergh and Errol Morris among its heavy-hitter executive producers — arrives in U.S. theaters about a year after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was known as "Promised Land."

Jarecki, however, says the documentary's Memphis run represents its most "significant" booking. That's why he returns to town this weekend, to introduce the film and answer questions after its 7 p.m. Friday screening. (Elsewhere in Tennessee, the movie also opens Friday at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 in Nashville, and it's set to arrive July 20 in Knoxville and Chattanooga.)

"This is life and death for me, this film, this subject," said Jarecki, in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he was promoting the film. "And the connection between Memphis and Elvis is fundamental to what I'm doing."

Elvis' induction into the Army is among the events that make Presley's story particularly "American," according to the documentary, "The King."(Photo: Elvis Presley Enterprises)

Jarecki's sixth theatrical feature in the past two decades, "The King" is essentially a filmed essay, with musical interludes and commentary provided by guest artists (Emmylou Harris, Chuck D), journalists (Dan Rather) and celebrities (a seemingly irrelevant but quite eloquent Mike Myers), many of whom discuss Elvis and America from the back seat of the large luxury car, purchased at auction for the production. (Entering the Rolls in Nashville, musician John Hiatt breaks into tears, struck by how "trapped" Elvis must have felt.)

Songwriter/performer Chuck D is among the notables who discuss the Elvis phenomenon in "The King."(Photo: Oscilloscope)

Unlike the recent HBO documentary epic, "Elvis Presley: The Searcher," the film dives deep into the contentious issue of "cultural appropriation" — Van Jones is not an Elvis fan — and gives a platform to Elvis skeptics and true believers both. Its candor and novelty are refreshing, even if some viewers may be perplexed by a finale that breaks into a frantic rapid-fire montage of post-Elvis images — "Scarface," O.J., 9/11, Barney the dinosaur — that seems intended to evoke the nervous breakdown of an electorate that would put a reality television star into the White House.

Jarecki, who is based in New York, said he and his crew shot some 2,600 hours of footage for the film, "and a huge amount of it was in Memphis."

"We took our time in Memphis," he said. "I don't need to tell you the significance that Memphis has in Elvis' story. It's the epicenter of trade and music between the North and the South. So much comes home to roost in Memphis about the meaning of America."

Actor and Elvis fan Ethan Hawke — listed in the credits as a "consulting producer" — is on hand for many of the Memphis scenes, which include visits to the Sam Phillips Recording Service, the Humes school (Elvis' alma mater), and the Stax Music Academy, where the students pile into the Rolls and serenade viewers with "Chain of Fools" and "Memphis Train to Heaven," an original song by music academy instructor Justin Merrick.

“When they got here, I took 'em over to one of the Stax Music Academy classrooms, and the producer just kind of flipped out," said Tim Sampson, communications director for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. "They ended up spending days here."

Students of the Stax Music Academy laugh and harmonize (to Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools") while riding in a 1963 Rolls-Royce formerly owned by Elvis Presley in "The King."(Photo: Oscilloscope)

In fact, Jarecki was so impressed with the music academy that when the production company re-sold the Rolls-Royce after filming, Jarecki insisted a donation to Stax be part of the deal. As a result, the Seminole Indian Nation of Florida, which bought the car for display in one of its Hard Rock Cafe casinos, has donated $25,000 to Stax, Sampson said.

Jarecki likens his film to a "tough love" letter.

Snapping a selfie in Soulsville with Elvis' Rolls-Royce in "The King."(Photo: Oscilloscope)

"It all began with my love of Elvis and my love of America and my sense that there was never anyone more emblematic of the American story and the American dream than Elvis," the filmmaker explained.

"I saw a metaphor," he said. "I saw a poetic image of how our most beloved son was in the end hurt by the power and the money, and how we have all been hurt by the power and the money. The film is a love letter to the country, a love letter to Elvis, but a real love letter has some tough love in it.

"The fact is that we have been a nation hijacked by the wrong people for too long, and they have hijacked us from the things that make us worthwhile and beautiful," Jarecki said.

Calling Donald Trump "the antithesis of Elvis Presley," Jarecki said Trump's election was evidence of how rapidly this "hijacking" has progressed, "like when you have a chronic sickness and then it moves into an acute sickness. This movie wouldn't have happened if the country were healthier."

City of Kings: Elvis' vintage Rolls-Royce visits the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968, in "The King."(Photo: Oscilloscope)

At one point in the film, Presley biographer Peter Guralnick extravagantly yet convincingly connects Elvis, Herman Melville and the Declaration of Independence. "He is a living metaphor for any picture of America you might want to draw," enthuses Guralnick, suggesting that Elvis embodies the promise of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" that is unique to what a historian in the movie calls "the American experiment."

Said Jarecki: "He's a cautionary tale. If you love him, you don't want what happened to him him to happen to us."

'The King'

Starts Friday at the Malco Studio on the Square.

Director Eugene Jarecki will attend the 7 p.m. Friday show, to introduce the film and answer questions afterward.